Baby, It's Cold Outside
by on rooftops
Summary: But that dragon tattoo brought the realization that she could make mistakes, and big ones. She could make decisions that could screw up her life, and her family's, and his. — Lily/Teddy
1. One

**Disclaimer:** I do not own _Harry Potter_.

Lily tugged her green knitted cap down over her ears and brushed some strands of static-cling red hair over her shoulder, glaring out into the white swirls obscuring the platform. "Bloody, _bloody_ snow."

Hugo chuckled beside her. "Isn't it gorgeous, Lil? We're going to have a white Christmas!"

"It's gorgeous for you, because _your_ parents trust you to apparate home without splinching yourself. It is not gorgeous for me, because my parents are driving out here, and therefore we will probably end up in a ditch on the side of the road." She scowled at Hugo. He rolled his eyes leapt from the train into a drift on the platform.

He turned in a circle, laughing as the snowflakes fell on his curly brown head. "Oh, come on Lily. Uncle Harry's a fine driver."

"But he's awful at driving in snow, and Mum is worse. Honestly." She stepped down from the platform and grimaced as her leather-booted foot disappeared in cold white fluff. "Well, are you heading out, then?"

Hugo turned and attempted to suppress a grin at Lily's expression. Her hat stopped just above her eyes, and her silver scarf almost covered her mouth entirely. Her Slytherin green gloves were barely visible, as she had stuffed her hands in the pockets of her black wool coat, and her gray skinny jeans, which had just begun to show spots of wet snow, descended into dangerously heeled black leather boots. "Do you remember, back before you became obsessed with fashion, when winter was your favorite season?"

"I am _not_ obsessed. And I wouldn't say winter was ever my favorite season."

"Are you kidding? You used to Floo over to wake me up for the first snowfall every bloody year, until you went off to Romania and spent too much time shoveling and not enough time riding dragons, or whatever it was you thought you'd be doing."

Lily raised her eyebrows. "Have you noticed that this is the first Christmas since first year that I'm _not _spending with Uncle Charlie? If I hate shoveling, why do I keep going back?"

"We actually have a bet going on that. Uncle George says that you're in love with one of Uncle Charlie's trainees, and Mum says that you just hate being around Al and James at Christmastime."

Lily's green eyes flashed angrily. "A bet. This family is insane." Hugo didn't respond, and she sighed. "What have you put your money on?"

"You clearly like dragons." He shrugged. "I don't think there's much more to it than that, although I am wondering why you're not going this year."

Lily swiped a few snowflakes away from her eyes and responded, "It's my last year at Hogwarts, and therefore my last winter hols. I want to spend them with the family, and since Uncle Charlie's coming home this year it's not like I'll miss seeing him."

"And this mysterious man that Uncle George claims you've got the hots for?" Hugo laughed and Lily responded with a swift punch to the gut.

"Lily Luna Potter, did I just see you hit your cousin?"

Lily whirled, a defense already on her lips, but bit it back when she found herself face to face with Teddy Lupin. His snow-spotted gray sweatshirt did nothing to obscure his wonderful broad shoulders and his hair was a distracting shade of red, decorated with gold stripes and melting snow droplets.

"Ted!" She threw her arms around his neck. "What are you doing here?"

"Hey, Lil." Teddy squeezed her briefly before releasing her and stepping back. "Your mum didn't want your dad driving in this snow, so she Flooed me to see if you could head home from my flat. Hey Hugo." He nodded his head at the shorter boy, who had moved forward to stand beside Lily.

"Hey Teddy," Hugo responded as she grumbled under her breath about "bloody, overprotective, non-apparating parents." "You sure you can handle her today? She's upset about something."

Teddy chuckled. "She's always upset about something. What is it this time?"

Teddy's eyes, a light hazel today, lingered over Lily's own green ones, but Hugo was the one who answered. "She _says_ it's the snow, but I don't believe her. She was in a bad mood before we left Hogwarts, and it wasn't snowing there."

"I can answer for myself, thank you, Hugo." Lily scowled at her cousin and turned to Teddy. "It is the snow, honestly. I don't get why you're all so obsessed with psychoanalyzing me."

Hugo shook his head at Teddy, wet strands of hair obscuring his eyes. "She lies, Ted. It's up to you to save Christmas. Because Merlin knows, an unhappy Lily means an unhappy family." He winked at her and disapparated with a pop, muffled in the falling snow.

Teddy raised an eyebrow at his frowning god-sister. "Coming?"

She shook her head at the empty spot where Hugo had stood, then flicked her wand at the trunk and owl cage sitting on the platform. They levitated onto a waiting trolley, which Teddy gripped in gloved hands. Lily walked beside him, her heels clicking against the pavement beneath the snow.

"So, how has the term been?" Teddy began, keeping his eyes peeled for any old classmates collecting their own children from the train. He hated running into people who had been at school with him, particularly those who had been a few years ahead of him – they all had their lives put together, with marriages and steady jobs and children. Teddy had none of that.

"Oh, it's all about the NEWTS this year. It's so boring, Ted. I just want to be out of there already." He glanced at her, expecting to see some evidence of the lie on her face. No one ever wanted to leave Hogwarts. But her eyes were clear and her chapped lips didn't twist at all, the way they sometimes did when she lied.

"Really? But what will you do, when you're not at Hogwarts anymore?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. But whatever it is, it's got to be better than this constant revision for bloody exams. I mean, just yesterday Hagrid made me recite every single thing that crups eat. Crups, Teddy. They eat everything."

The two strode out of the platform and into the crowd of Muggles in King's Cross, and Teddy breathed a sigh of relief. He was safe. "My car's this way, Lil."

She followed him to the two-door coup, a gift from Harry for finally landing a position in werewolf research at the Ministry. Of course, that position required very little actual at-work work, and Harry's pride perhaps indicated something rather pathetic about Teddy's life. But Teddy was grateful for the car and Lily had loved it when she first saw it last year.

He tossed her the keys and she slid into the passenger side, immediately turning on the car and flicking the heat dial up all the way, her gloved fingers already pressed against the vents, as if she were trying to pull the tendrils of heat out through pure willpower. Teddy smiled at her typical antics and pushed her trunk into the car's boot, thanking Merlin that Lily had the sense to pack lightly. He lifted the empty owl cage and tossed it in the back before slamming the lid and opening the driver's side door. "Lily, where – " he cut off. Lily had both her hands pressed against the heater still, her eyes closed as the almost-hot air breathed out. "Merlin, are you really that cold?"

She jumped, pulling her hands away from the vents guiltily. "No, no! I'm fine now." But she pulled her legs up to her chin and wrapped her arms around them. "What was it you were saying?"

He slowly backed out of the parking spot and onto the snow coated street. "Where's Athena?"

"Oh, she's delivering a letter." Lily glanced at him, her eyes questioning from beneath her hat. "Why? Where'd you think she was?"

"I mean, I figured she would be. But you're going home, and you just left school. So who're you sending letters to?"

Lily's smile was forced. "A friend."

"A Romanian 'friend'?"

"What is it with all of you? Are you in on the bet too?"

"Was Hugo on you about this?" Teddy laughed. "We really should start communicating better."

"Or you could just let my business alone."

"Come on, Lily, you know your family. That's not their way." They drove in silence for a few minutes, then Teddy broke in again, "So Athena's in Romania?"

"Merlin, Ted. Yes, she is."

"With a 'friend'? A guy friend?"

"Not a boyfriend, not an ex, and not a will-be or would-be." Lily scowled out into the snow. "None of those. I had a question for him, so I sent him a letter. I don't understand why you and Hugo and everyone think that I'm hiding something."

"Because for the last six years you've been gone on Christmas, now all of a sudden you're back. Your parents are worried too, Lily. I'm not going to start this off with a lie: Harry asked me to try and find out what's going on with you. I told him I would."

"So basically, this car ride is going to be one big attack on my sanity?"

"Only if you don't start talking."

Lily rolled her eyes. "You know, Ted, I used to think that at least you would always be on my side."

"I am on your side. If it's something that I don't think your parents should know, I'll keep it quiet. You used to tell me everything, Lil. When'd that change?"

She glanced at him. "I'm not twelve anymore. There are some things about my life I'm sure you wouldn't find interesting."

He gripped the steering wheel tighter. "I'm interested in everything."

"Sure," she laughed, "so, you care that my first kiss was with Lorcan Scamander, fourth year, and we were both under the influence of too much Firewhiskey? You care that I wouldn't sleep with Scorpius, and that's why he dumped me? You care that I'm seventeen and all that I want to do with my life is chase dragons, but bloody Charlie and his bloody bastard son won't let me?"

"You dated Scorpius Malfoy?" He tried to process the rest of the information she had just blurted out, but he couldn't get over the image of his Lily entangled with that bloody self-obsessed white haired git, never mind that he was Al's best friend.

"For sixth year. It was a stupid relationship – we didn't fit together well."

"And…wait. Charlie has a son?"

Lily bit her lip. "I swore to him I wouldn't tell anyone, though. Teddy, you _have_ to keep it quiet."

"But why doesn't anyone know about him?"

"Red was born during the war; I think he's a little older than you. But his mother didn't tell Charlie about him until he was a few years old, and then she only did because she had cancer, and she didn't have anyone else to go to. I think Charlie's ashamed that he didn't look out for her better, and I think that by then he was used to being separated from the family. Red's a nice enough guy – although he can be kind of a twat sometimes. But he's a lot like Charlie, I guess. He doesn't like anything as much as he likes dragons. And he doesn't like me at all."

"Why?"

"He's worried I'll…I don't know…take over. Or maybe bring the family to Romania, and he doesn't want that. He doesn't want to be the family's scandal. He'd rather just be a secret."

"I can understand that, but he and Charlie don't want you back, just for this one last break?" Teddy flicked on his signal and pulled into the parking garage.

"They think it's time I find something 'real' to do with my life."

"So it's good enough for them, but not for you?" Although Teddy had to admit that the thought of Lily moving to Romania felt like a fist to his stomach.

"Something like that." She stepped out of the car and reached for her wand to move her trunks before remembering that they were in a Muggle apartment building. "Why don't you live in a wizard area, Ted?"

He blinked at the abrupt change of subject, but didn't try to turn it back to her problems. "You know why."

Lily shook her head. "I thought it was just while you worked at that Muggle restaurant, not for good."

Teddy smiled at the reminder of his post-Hogwarts career choice. "I didn't really want to leave. I got used to living here and I like it."

The lift stopped on the second floor, and a young man got in. His hair was ruffled in the way that Muggles found so fashionable, and his skin was almost covered in tattoos. He looked about thirty, a couple of years older than Teddy. Lily smiled at him, and he nodded. "Lupin. Lupin's girl."

"Dickenson, this is an old friend, Lily. Lil, Dickenson here lives in the flat next to mine."

"Pleasure to meet you." He pressed a kiss to the back of her hand and she grimaced, jerking her hand back and shaking her head.

Teddy chuckled. "Sorry, Dick. Lily's not one for old-fashioned charm."

Lily snorted. "Not sketchy old-fashioned charm, anyway."

"Sketchy, me?" The man gasped, pretending to take offense. "It's because of the tattoos, isn't it?"

"Nah, more the hand-kiss thing. The tattoos are hot." Lily grinned at the expression that crossed Teddy's face. "Oh, come on Ted, you've got to admit it."

"No, no, I don't. I should know better than to take you out in public." He grabbed her hand and tugged her from the lift, lugging her trunk in his other hand.

"Wait, are you moving in?" Dickinson followed them into the hallway.

"No, this is just a stopover on my way home for winter hols. I'm at boarding school." Lily laughed. "I'm much too young for you or darling Ted." And _that_ was the real problem.

Dickinson stuck his lower lip out in a mock pout. "Well, if you ever feel like being rebellious, I live right here." He stuck his key in the lock and winked at Lily, who winked back.

But as Teddy opened his own door she called back over her shoulder. "If I'm interested in being that kind of rebellious, I'd choose Teddy."

A laugh followed her into the flat, but Teddy's face, when he flicked on the lamp, was anything but amused. "What the _hell_ do you think you're doing?"

"Talking to your neighbor?" She finally took off her hat, and Teddy almost relaxed at the sight of her red hair sticking up in a static-driven halo. But then he saw that she herself had a tattoo, a small but unbelievably intricate one in the soft skin behind her ear. A silver and green dragon moved slowly beneath his surprised gaze, stretching its wings and yawning. A slip of gold fire flew from its mouth and Lily flinched slightly.

She wasn't his little Lily. He had known that she wasn't twelve anymore; her appearance didn't surprise him. But that dragon brought the realization that she could make mistakes, and big ones. She could make decisions that could screw up her life, and her family's, and his.

"When did you get that tattoo?"

She reached a now-bare hand up to smooth the static out of her hair. "A while ago."

"Do your parents know?" He couldn't look away from the magical ink, his eyes mesmerized by the way it slid across her skin.

"Honestly, Ted, I'm seventeen. They don't need to know everything about me. And how is this any worse than anything else I told you today?"

"They haven't seen it?"

"I usually put on a Glamour when I'm home. I forgot today." She tugged her wand from the waistband of her jeans and muttered the incantation. The dragon disappeared, replaced by a small section of smooth, pale, Lily skin.

"But, why?" His eyes finally left that spot and he turned, needing to be away from his surprising changeling.

"Why'd I get the tattoo? I wanted to. Again, how is this any different than anything else I told you today?"

"Because." He directed his wand at the fireplace and a woosh of flame shot up in the logs. "You kissed Lorcan, whatever. You drink Firewhiskey – well, everyone does at some point or another, especially, I'd imagine, in Slytherin. You _didn't_ sleep with Malfoy, so that just means that you're still Lily Potter, brave and not an idiot. And that stuff about Charlie and Romania? That doesn't have much to do with you, except that you like dragons, which we all knew already, and that you keep secrets." He felt her coming closer and he moved across the room, to the flat's tiny kitchen. "But this, Lily? You've done something to yourself, and you're keeping it from your parents. It's not someone else's secret, it's your own."

"You talk too much, sometimes," Lily said, and Teddy turned to see her holding her hands over the fire, her back to him. She had shed her jacket, and was wearing a red sweater with gold trim, confusing her classic Slytherin look. "All you really needed to say was that it made you realize that I've grown up."

"I knew that already, Lil." Teddy filled his tea kettle with hot water. "Do you want some hot chocolate?"

"Sure." She sat down on the floor. "What you knew, Teddy, was that in _theory_ I had grown up. You knew that externally, sure, I'm seventeen. But you didn't know that I make my own decisions, and want different things than I wanted when I was ten." She laughed. "In case you were wondering, I no longer want to be a famous Quidditch-player-slash-Auror and I really don't want to marry Lysander Scamander. I don't regret being sorted into Slytherin."

"I never thought you did." He tore two packages of powdered hot chocolate open and emptied them into his wolf-decorated mugs, Christmas gifts from Lily years before.

"Really?" Lily turned to look at him in surprise. "But everyone else did. Mum and Dad cornered me first thing when I came home for Easter hols and told me that they loved me, no matter what. And James told me that he'd get over it, eventually, so I shouldn't waste time trying to make it up for him. Hugo begged me to ask McGonagall to place me in Ravenclaw, because clearly I wasn't happy. They all think that I'm still overdoing my House pride by wearing so much silver and green."

He grinned. "I like that you're in Slytherin, and it's clear that you belong there. Your family is just worried they'll make you think they're not proud of you, or something."

"There're other reasons to not be proud of me."

"What do you mean?" Teddy tapped his wand against the tea kettle, and it let out an immediate blast of steam.

"I mean…I'm not brilliant at Quidditch, my best classes are Potions and Care of Magical Creatures, which don't even require any magical talent, really, and I'm not all that popular at school. In fact, I think most of the students in the other Houses are scared of me."

Teddy dropped the empty kettle back on the stove and added a shot of rum to each of their mugs, then dropped down next to her. He handed her her mug and took her right hand in his. It was still ice cold.

Her eyes remained trained on the flickering fire. "Look at me, Lily." She blinked and turned her gaze to his. "You are good at your other classes, but Care of Magical Creatures and Potions are two of the more difficult classes at Hogwarts because they are not typical. They don't require much wand work, they ask for so much more than that. You need to be so intelligent to excel at either of them. To be brilliant at both – Merlin, Lil, you're among the best students in your year, and everyone knows it. And you're a passable flier, you just don't care for Quidditch. Do you remember how hard James used to work?" She nodded slowly, her hair brushing his cheek. He hadn't realized he had moved that close to her. "He tried that hard to be able to beat you. You don't try, so of course you're not as good as him or Al. But you could be, believe me. And as for being popular…the others in your House respect you. And the rest of the school is always scared of Slytherins. They don't get it."

"What don't they get?" Lily's whisper was a brush of air across his mouth.

"Slytherins aren't evil. They're just cleverer than the rest of the Houses put together. Cleverer even than Ravenclaws, because you're more emotional." He leaned closer, resting his mug on the hearth so he could cup her cheek in warm fingers. "They're scared of you because you know your faults, and you use them."

Her cool lips were suddenly on his, and he wasn't sure which one of them had actually made the first move, but it didn't matter because she was Lily, and she was, for that moment, his. His hands moved to her hair, and she wrapped hers around him, pulling him closer as their lips parted and his tongue met hers. He took in the taste of Lily, masked beneath coffee and a vague minty toothpaste, as he moaned against her and she returned the sound, the kiss.

They broke apart after what felt like much too little time, and Teddy jerked out of her grasp, standing and striding to the window. "Oh, shit."

"Ted," Lily began, although she wasn't sure what she was going to say.

"Don't." He pushed his fingers through his now-green hair, his head cradled in his hands. "Shit."

"Teddy," Lily tried again, still unsure of what she wanted to say.

"Lily." He turned to face her, and she noticed that his skin was uncharacteristically flushed. "Lil, look. I shouldn't have…" But she stood too, and her eyes dared him to finish that statement. "Okay, it wasn't just me. But you can't want this. Want me."

"But you can want me?" she asked, her voice dipping dangerously low, and he wondered, suddenly, if the other students were right to fear her.

"Lily, you're practically my little sister. And I'm old, so old. And we're just…we're not right. We can't be right."

"But that doesn't mean you don't want me."

"Of course I want you!" He turned back to the window, pressed his head against the cooling glass. "Merlin, Lily, I've wanted you since you first started wearing low-cut tops and telling your brothers to go fuck themselves. But I can't have you. I know that, and you should know that too."

But her hands were back, wrapped around his waist and spread across his hard abdomen. "You know why I didn't sleep with Scorpius?"

Teddy tensed, trying to shrug her hands off of him, but he couldn't bring up the willpower. "Why?"

"Because he wasn't you. I've been waiting for you to see me, really _see _me, for years."

"But…why? I'm so old." Teddy finally drudged up that self-control that he was once famous for and pulled away from her.

"You keep saying that." Lily remained by the window, her fingers playing with the hem of her sweater and her eyes darting from Teddy to the fire.

"Because it's true."

"You're eleven years older than me," Lily stated. "Yes. But that doesn't mean you're _old._"

"I'm far too old for you."

Lily sighed. "I used to think that, you know. But when I was in Romania the second time, Uncle Charlie introduced me to this dragon training couple – Adelina and Dorin. Dorin was eight-four, and Adelina was seventy. That's fourteen years, Ted, and I've never seen a couple more suited to each other, or one more in love. They put even my parents to shame."

"But that's…it's different. It doesn't matter, when you're that old."

"They met when Adelina was born. They've known each other their whole lives."

Teddy didn't have a response to that. He closed his eyes, leaned back against the wall, and sighed. "Why are you doing this?"

"Because I like you, and you like me, and because we know each other better than anyone else knows us. I'm sick of being lonely and missing you all the time, and then wishing for more whenever I'm around you. And I'm really tired of hiding things from you."

She moved then, unwilling to let this chance slip away, and wrapped her arms around his waist, pressing her forehead against the soft skin of his neck and breathing in that undeniable Teddy smell – like pine soap and laundry detergent and, faintly, like wet dog. It wasn't an unpleasant smell, though. It reminded her of a sudden summer shower and heavy spring rains and dancing in the yard under lightning flecked skies. She hooked her fingers in the belt loops at the back of his jeans and she whispered against his neck, "Please Teddy. Can't we just try?"

"Merlin, Lil." She tilted her face up to look at him, and found her eyes connecting with the slight, thoughtful purse of his lips. She stood on tiptoe and pushed him back against the wall, her lips hovering a breath away from his for a full minute before he closed the distance, pulling her lower lip almost harshly between his with a sigh. His teeth grazed her lip and then their mouths were full on each other's again, and Lily found herself falling further, deeper.

"Please," she whispered, a breath between kisses.

"Lily." Her lips moved to his throat, spreading soft kisses down along the slope of his neck as he spoke. "We can't – I mean, we are…but what do you want?"

She pulled away slightly. "I want you, Ted. Somehow, I just want you to be mine."

"I'm already yours." He rubbed peace-making hands over her back, gently up and down the bumps of her spine, and she shivered. "But I don't want to let Harry know, yet."

"Or anyone," Lily added. "I don't either. But that's a yes? A relationship, or something like one?"

"A relationship," Teddy stated. "Nothing else."

Lily smiled at him, a wide grin that left no questions or space for lies. "A secret, at least until I leave school."

His lips hit hers again, and they moved toward the fire, falling down beside it in a tangled mess of limbs.

They stayed there until Lily accidentally knocked over one of the mugs of hot chocolate, spreading cool liquid across the floor. Teddy reached for his wand and spelled it away, but Lily glanced at the clock. "Shit."

"What?" Teddy looked over, and saw that the sky, which had been gray with snow what felt like just minutes before, was now pitch black. "Oh, stay a little longer, Lil."

"Are you kidding?" She straightened her sweater and picked up the second mug, walking to the sink. "Dad'll be at the Floo any minute, and if he's not, then either Al or James'll be at the door, ready to tear you apart."

"They'd never even think anything like that."

"But you're keeping me away from home on one of their favorite nights of the year. They'll think something's up."

"Not this, I bet." He pressed his lips against Lily's neck, and she grinned.

"I don't want to go either, Ted, but –" The fire burst into green flames, and Lily and Teddy jumped apart as Harry's head appeared.

"Teddy! Lily!" His voice echoed through the flat, and Lily quickly smoothed down her hair and wiped her mouth before crossing into the living room and sinking down before the fire.

"Hey Dad." Lily smiled sheepishly. "Sorry. We lost track of time."

"Oh, thank Merlin. I was beginning to think something had happened. Will you come home now? Your Mum'll kill both me and Teddy if we don't get you back to her soon."

"Of course, Dad. Just let me get my stuff and I'll Floo straight through, all right?"

"Yes, yes. I'll see you in a few, then." Harry disappeared and Teddy let out a sigh.

"We are so lucky you knocked that hot chocolate over. Can you imagine, if he had Flooed while we were snogging?"

"I really don't want to imagine it, thanks." Lily gripped her trunk and tugged it over to the fire. "I'll see you on Christmas, right?"

"Yeah, I'm coming for dinner and the family palooza. Maybe we can get a few minutes…"

"And if we can't, at least I'll see you." Lily kissed him quickly, then grabbed a handful of Floo powder from the canister and stepped into the fire, shutting her eyes and calling out "Devon's End."

She whirled through the maze of fireplaces, thinking of the magic of snowstorms.

**A/N: **I appreciate reviews!


	2. Two

**A/N:** Oh, God, this was such a fail. On many levels. Work sucked up my life this break.  
1. I wanted to have it out on Christmas. (Almost three weeks late).

2. Then I wanted to have it out on New Years (Almost two weeks late).

3. Then I wanted it to be Lily-Teddy centric (it's pretty much anything but. Sorry!!!)

4. Then I wanted to have lots and lots of kissing. (Again, I'm sorry!)

This was a success…in that I basically just want to write about this dragon-chasing Lily and flush-out Teddy's character in a novel-length fic. Really. But I have no time, even on break, and I go back to school in three days.

Anyway, thank you everyone for your responses on the first half, and I hope that this does not disappoint too too badly!!! Lots of family drama herein, I think I may have packed it too full. It is not all resolved in the end, but it doesn't need to be.

**Disclaimer: **Not mine, really. But I wish it was.

**2: Fire**

Harry and Ginny had invited the whole family for Christmas for the last ten years, but for some reason Ginny felt more anxious about this Christmas than she had for any of the past ones. Maybe it was that the house was an absolute mess, because she had been cooking nonstop for the last five days and Lily had just come home, bringing with her a trunk full of expensive clothes that she seemed to think looked best spread across the entire house. Maybe it was because an unbelievable amount of snow still covered the lawn and the house and the walkway, and she didn't think that her house could hold everyone if they couldn't overflow into the yard, even though George and Percy's families wouldn't be coming. Maybe it was because Harry had been watching Lily with a sad look on his face, as if he finally realized that their little girl was growing up.

But Ginny suspected that her unexpected, unusual anxiety attack had something to do with significant others. Al and James had informed her that they would be bringing their girlfriends home – girls who the boys had never mentioned before. Hugo had Flooed over to beg Ginny and Harry to let him bring his girlfriend, and apparently Dominique had found some bloke while travelling abroad in Germany. But it wasn't this sudden influx of unknowns that terrified Ginny.

Victoire and Rose had also asked that they be allowed to bring their boyfriends. Ginny had thought that Victoire still wanted Teddy, and was just trying to make him jealous, until she found that she had invited _Lorcan Scamander_, who had to be at least four years younger than she. And Rose, oh, Rose. Ginny hated herself for thinking it, but she was almost positive that Rose and Scorpius Malfoy had recently gotten together. But Rose hadn't said anything, and Lily hadn't stormed around in any unusual way, so Ginny couldn't be positive. Unfortunately, her feelings were usually right.

Of course, she had said yes to all these requests, and was now worrying how Lily and Teddy would react to seeing their exes happily ensconced in new relationships. She considered warning her daughter, but after all, she wasn't _positive_ that Rose was dating Scorpius, and Lily came down Christmas morning positively overflowing with sunshine, even though it was barely seven.

"Happy Christmas Mum, Dad," Lily whirled into the kitchen and dropped a kiss on her father's head as she passed him on her way to the stove.

"Happy Christmas, Lil." Ginny replied, handing her daughter a plate of eggs and hoping that the girl had the sense to eat it all, while Harry stared up in surprise from the _Prophet._ He hadn't seen Lily this cheerful before noon in several years.

"What's got you all excited today?" Harry asked, moving his mug of coffee so she could sit down.

"It's _Christmas_. Who isn't excited on Christmas?" Lily beamed from behind her own coffee, and Ginny bit her lip, praying that this mood wouldn't smash after the others arrived.

Harry smiled at her, "It's good to have you home, Lily. We miss you when you're at school, and when you're with Charlie."

"And I've missed you." She gulped her coffee, trying not to think about being woken up by a bugle at four in the morning and about tossing live animals to hungrier, bigger animals before the sun broke the chilled horizon, about coffee laced with rum and candy canes dipped in liquid red hots and a long day spent tending to ferocious, lovable beasts.

She swallowed her sorrow along with her coffee, focusing on the recent memory of a pair of brown eyes and a wide smile, a smile that would be falling through their fireplace eventually. "Do you need help with anything?"

Ginny grinned, "I'd love some."

"And that's why you always liked me better than the boys." Lily stood and Vanished her mostly uneaten breakfast, then followed her mother to the stove.

Harry groaned, "Let's not get into that. Remember, the boys are coming home today."

"How could I forget?" Lily glanced at the flickering fireplace, willing it to turn green, although she knew that he wouldn't arrive before noon. She followed her mother's Christmas morning instructions, helping with the roast and the cleaning, clearing the path with a determined wave of her wand and striving to avoid thoughts of dragons and Teddy.

Lily stood at the stove, adding a stick of butter to the pot of mashed potatoes, when Al and his girlfriend tumbled through the fireplace. She turned and smiled at Beatrice, whom she had met once before, and her brother, who looked fairly hung-over.

"Happy Christmas!" Lily glanced out the window and saw that both her parents were in the yard. "There's hang-over potion in my bedside table upstairs, Al."

"You," Al covered a yawn with a soot-smeared hand, "Are my favorite sister ever."

Lily laughed as Al headed upstairs and Bea glanced nervously around at the messy kitchen. "Your parents won't hate me, will they?"

"Oh, Bea, my parents are pretty much incapable of hating anyone." Lily tried to make her voice reassuring, "Believe me, they'll love you. They'd love anyone who can make Al smile the way you do."

"How many girls have you had to say that to, over the years?"

Bea released a nervous, self-deprecating laugh, and Lily shrugged, "So far, just you. But I'm sure I'll be repeating for James's girlfriend – Aida, isn't it? And I haven't even met her yet. But I actually mean it for you."

Al bounded down the stairs then, looking refreshed. "Thank Merlin for you and your potions, Lils."

"Yes, yes, it's all I'm good for. Go introduce Bea to Mum and Dad, now Al, and leave me alone."

Al chuckled, "Will do. Come on, darling, can't you tell we're bothering Lilykins?" As they passed through the front door, sending a wave of chilling air across Lily's green sweater-ed back, she heard Bea murmur, "Are you certain she's in Slytherin, Al? She seems much too nice."

Al laughed and called over his shoulder, "You hear that, Lil, you're not living up to your snakey expectations."

Lily scowled at the mashed potatoes, but kept her voice even as she replied "You can't trust my niceness, remember? Slytherins are inherently evil, each and every one of us."

"Oh, Lily, you kidder," Al took Bea's hand and led her outside, to meet the vanquisher of Voldemort and the brilliant flier of the Holyhead Harpies and Lily forced the scowl from her lips.

James arrived minutes later, clutching a bottle of champagne in one hand and the hand of a too skinny blonde in the other. The girl smiled shyly at Lily, who took the proffered bottle and smiled back.

"Aida, Lily. Lily, Aida." James shook soot from his dragon skin jacket and tossed it over the back of one of the kitchen chairs as Lily shook Aida's hand and took her soft velvet pea coat.

"I think I remember you from Hogwarts," Aida narrowed gray eyes at Lily, "You're in Slytherin, right?"

Why was everyone so obsessed with that today? "Yeah. You were Ravenclaw?"

She grinned, "Mmm, but Jamsie keeps telling me I should have been in Gryffindor."

Lily bit back an involuntary gag at the pet name. "Good thing it's James saying it – from anyone else it would be an insult."

"Hey!" James glared at his sister, "If you're going to be all hissy and elitist, we'll just leave and tell Mum that it's your fault."

Lily rolled her eyes, "Yeah, I'm sure you'll pass up free food just to avoid me. Mum and Dad are out in the garden with Al and Bea, if you want to introduce Aida to them."

"Sure." He took Aida's hand again, but he turned just as he was about to lead her from the room. "Are you all right, Lil? I was just kidding, you know."

"I know. I'm fine."

James shook his head, "You really don't seem – " The fire burst into green again, and this time Lily smiled genuinely at the man who fell out of it.

"Ted!" James got to his side first, grabbing his almost-brother into a one armed hug. "Happy Christmas, mate."

"You too." Teddy brushed messy brown hair from his eyes and shook a shower of green tinted soot to the ground. "Hey Lil."

"Hey Teddy." Lily stood on tiptoe and kissed him on the cheek, as she had done since she was two, and waved a hand at Aida. "This is James's girlfriend Aida. Aida, this is our dad's godson, Teddy."

"Nice to meet you." Aida held out a hand and shook Teddy's, eyeing him in a way that Lily did not like, both for her sake and James's.

Al and Bea broke through the door then, both laughing brightly. Al caught sight of Teddy and let out a woop. "And now the party can really start. Ted, this is my girlfriend Bea. Bea, this is Teddy."

Teddy laughed, "Ginny must be going crazy with all the couples here this year."

"Oh, you don't even know." Lily tossed some pepper into one of the pots simmering on the stove. Everyone always asked her why the hell she didn't just cast spells to cook for her, but she thought that cooking – like potions – worked best if you actually spent the time and the effort to do it properly. And no one ever denied that she was the best cook in the family, and her food definitely rivaled the Hogwarts' house elves'.

"What do you mean?" Teddy asked, running a hand through his hair.

"Apparently," Al's voice dropped lower, laughter rustling beneath its surface, "You and Lily are the only two coming alone."

"Well," Lily tossed a balled up dish towel at her brother, "That's not entirely true. But it is almost true. We're the only lonely ones in the family, Ted."

"I wouldn't say I'm exactly _lonely_." Teddy replied, "So Ginny is stressed?"

"Mmmhmm," James reached around Lily and snatched a fresh sticky bun from the plate on the counter, "Especially because Victoire is coming with Lorcan Scamander."

"She is?" Both Lily's and Teddy's voices were laced with surprise.

"Yeah, and she's worried that Teddy'll be hurt. But you won't, right Ted?"

"I was the one who broke up with Victoire. What about you, Lily? Gonna regret not giving Lorcan a chance?"

"What?" Albus whipped around from feeding Bea a bite of the sticky bun that he had snatched from James, "You and Lorcan? When'd that happen? And why does Teddy know about it?"

Lily glared at Teddy, who shrugged in response, not looking nearly apologetic enough. "Me and Lorcan were never anything, Teddy's just causing trouble."

Teddy laughed, "Sure, sure, now you say that. Now that you know you can't have him."

"Oh, please. If I'd wanted Lorcan, Victoire would never have had a chance."

"Ohhh, Lily's some type of sex-fiend now?" James laughed, "Somehow, I can't imagine that."

"I'm a Slytherin, _Jamesy_. We're irresistible." She tossed her hair over her shoulder as the fire flamed green once more and Bill's family fell through, Louis and his girlfriend followed closely by Dom and a skinny bloke, all ahead of Victoire, who gripped Lorcan's hand the minute they stepped into the kitchen.

"Hello, everyone," Bill grinned broadly around the room and Fleur sniffed her hellos, as the cousins exchanged awkward hugs and generic "Happy Christmas"es.

The family drifted toward the living room, all save Lorcan, Victoire, Teddy and Lily. Al shot Lily a look when he left, instructing her to get the hell out before awkwardness saturated the situation, but she ignored him, concentrating on her cooking.

"Hey, Teddy." Victoire began, but Teddy broke in by pulling her into a light hug.

"Happy Christmas, Vic," he released her and extended a hand to Lorcan. "It's good to see you again."

"You too, Lupin." The men shook hands and Lorcan tapped Lily on the shoulder, "Hey, Fire Breath, no hug for me?"

Lily spun around and gave him a one armed hug, "How've you been, Lor? I haven't seen you in a while."

Lorcan ran a hand tattooed with a moving green serpent through his messy blonde hair, "Yeah, well, I'm not supposed to return to Hogwarts for a few years, you know. But I've been well, thank you."

"And you, Vic?" Lily turned to see Victoire watching her with narrowed eyes.

"You've been away from home every Christmas for the last six years, Lily. Why are you here?"

"Don't you want me here?" Lily pulled a fake pout.

"I want to know why you're not with Charlie, cleaning up dragon dung."

Teddy and Lorcan stilled, looking between Victoire and Lily suspiciously. Laughter from the living room drifted through the heated, tense air of the kitchen, and Lily tried to remember the last time she had seen Victoire. _Oh._

"Look, Vic…I wasn't thinking."

"No? It seemed like you were thinking quite a lot, actually."

"What are you two going on about?" Teddy glanced at a grimacing Lorcan, whose face became more disgruntled under the man's scrutiny.

"Lily told me something rather interesting the last time I saw her. Or maybe more upsetting than interesting." Victoire grinned, snake-like, and Lily wondered once again why she hadn't been sorted into Slytherin.

"It's not a big deal, Victoire. That was over two years ago."

"But I'm guessing you haven't really changed all that much. After all, you're Lily Luna Potter – you get everything you want through bribery and blackmail."

"That's enough, Victoire," Teddy took a few steps forward, so he stood slightly in front of Lily, "It's Christmas, let it be."

"It's _because_ it's Christmas, Teddy. Lily told me, when I caught her at the Hog's Head during one of her drunken escapades a few years back, that she hated these 'bloody awful family things' and that she'd rather clean up dragon shit than spend time with us." Lorcan shifted uneasily, and Teddy glanced at Lily, who shut her eyes against his surely accusing gaze. "Honestly, is that really the opinion of someone you trust? Or want around on Christmas?"

"Merlin, Victoire, I was young and stupid, in love with dragons and sick of being the youngest. I was drunk and sloppy and I know that I should never have told you that but I did, and I thought that you knew that I didn't really mean it." She shoved her hand through her hair, "Or that I don't mean it anymore, anyway."

"You do realize how fucking lucky we all are, right? That we have a family who cares about us and will support us no matter what?" Lily examined her fingernails rather than meet Victoire's bitter gaze. The girl's best friend from Hogwarts had been abandoned by her pureblood parents early on for being sorted into Ravenclaw, and Lily knew that Victoire's friendship with Enna had forever improved her opinion of their own family.

"I _know_." Lily's voice was heavy with anger, suppressed passion and a hint of exhaustion.

"Look, Lily, I don't want anyone hurt because of you."

She shut her eyes and stepped away from Victoire, her hand drifting toward the length of willow in her pocket without thinking. Just as she was about to grip its smooth handle, the fire roared to life once more.

At first Teddy thought that Lily had performed an unintentional bit of wandless magic in her anger with Victoire, but the jets of flame glowed green and two figures fell from the fireplace.

Lily's eyes flew open and Victoire whirled around as Charlie tugged his dragonskin gloves from burn-scarred fingersr and the man beside him straightened a ratty Muggle tee-shirt emblazoned with "The Doors". This man ran a hand self-consciously through black hair, blinked tired blue eyes and bit his pale lip as he met Lily's irate gaze.

"Happy Christmas!" Charlie said to the room at large, moving to embrace Victoire. Teddy glanced at Lily with a question in his eyes, but she still examined Charlie's accompaniment critically.

Her voice, when it came, retained a cooler anger than she had directed at Vic. But this anger, Teddy knew, was infinitely more dangerous than her typical fire. "What are you doing here?"

"Lily," Charlie turned from Victoire, "Red's parents are spending the holidays in Morocco, his sister and brother are both with their in-laws, and I felt bad leaving him with just the dragons for company, so I invited him here."

"His _parents_?"Lily turned her glare from Red to Charlie.

"Yes, Lily," Charlie's calm voice revealed very little panic, but Lily could tell, from the way his eyes were flicking from her to Teddy and then to Victoire and Lorcan, that he was nervous. Probably scared shitless, actually. She could so easily blow open his secret. So easily complicate his life, like he had hers.

But secrets, Lily had learned long ago, are most useful when they're kept hidden.

"Oh, you're speaking to them again? Well, that's good. Go on, everyone's in the living room." Charlie and Red both nodded their thanks to her, and Lorcan and Teddy trailed them into the other room. Lily attempted to ignore Victoire's still angry gaze on her back as she turned back to the stove, but she couldn't help but ask, "Vic, can you just forgive me for being an idiot fifteen-year-old the last time you saw me?"

"You still prefer the dragons." It wasn't a question, but Victoire's voice no longer resonated with years of unaired anger.

"I always will." Lily rubbed her face with cold hands, "But I love the family, and I'm happy to be here." A little fake-honesty never hurt anyone.

Victoire sighed, "Honestly, Lily, it wasn't so much the whole family thing that pissed me off."

Lily turned around in surprise. She had never known Victoire to even half-lie before. "What were you talking about, then?"

Victoire glanced over her shoulder at the entrance to the living room, then grabbed her cousin's cold hand, "Come outside for a moment."

Once they stood surrounded by piles of snow Victoire spoke again. "I know you probably don't remember much of what you said that time in the Hog's Head."

"Try nothing," Lily muttered.

"All right, it was a while ago, and you were drunk. I know that I shouldn't blame you. But I do."

"For what?" Lily blinked against the sunlight and tried to meet Victoire's gaze, but the girl was staring past her, into the living room window.

"Teddy. I loved him, you know. I still do. I mean, I do love Lorcan, too, more than I thought I could ever love anyone, after Teddy. But I would never have let Teddy ditch me if you hadn't told me…told me what you did, that day."

Lily felt unfamiliar guilt building up in her stomach, and she clenched her arm across it in an effort to quell the feeling. "Oh, Merlin, what did I say?"

"You told the truth." Victoire laughed in self-deprecation, "And I hate you for it. You told me that I was fooling myself, that he didn't love me. That he wanted to, maybe, but that he didn't. That if I just stopped lying to myself, if I opened my fucking eyes, I'd see that he didn't really want me. And I tried to ignore what you said, but you forced my eyes open. And I did see."

"Oh." Lily closed her eyes, "I'm sorry."

"But what I want to know, is how could you tell?'

Lily hesitated. "The Sorting Hat told me that it would have put me in Gryffindor, like I begged it to, if it hadn't been for one thing."

"So?"

"I know things from watching people. I can tell when someone's in love, so I can tell when someone's out of love. I can tell when someone's lying as easily as most people can tell someone's blonde or brown-haired. So I saw you and I saw Teddy and I saw the way you interacted and I knew. I'm sorry that I told you that, though. I don't usually share what I know." _Unless I get something out of it_, Lily reflected. Which she had, she supposed, after a few years.

"I still don't forgive you. I know I should probably thank you, I should probably be over it. But, Merlin, Lily, you've never been in love, you can't know, but it's hell. All of it, the love itself, the sex, the breakup."

Lily sighed. "I don't know what to say, Victoire."

Victoire didn't respond. She walked past Lily to the house, and Lily heard her call a happy greeting to Ron and Hermione when she entered. Lily didn't follow her inside. Instead, she walked slowly around to the back of the house, her stockinged feet sinking stupidly into the frigid snow, her fingers freezing purple in the cool sunlight.

She shoved open the creaky door to the shed and reached for the smooth wood of her Blastbolt, the broom that her father had gotten her for her seventeenth birthday. She glanced at the even straws of the tail and missed her old broom, a Firebolt Classic with a dragon-fire singed tail and a near char-black handle after a few run-ins with a mama dragon gone wild.

"Lily?"

She had expected Teddy, or maybe Charlie, but not Red.

"What do you want?"

"Charlie sent me out here to see if you're all right." Lie.

"You came out here to make sure I won't tell everyone who you are." Truth.

"And to make sure you're all right."

"I don't want to fuck up my family." Lily dropped the broom against the wall and directed a heating Charm at her soaked and chilled feet. It almost worked.

"So you won't tell them."

"Not until I'm sure they can handle it." Red's eyes widened in fear, and Lily laughed. "But don't worry, they won't ever be able to. My grandma Molly believes that her purpose in life is to pull the family together. And you and Charlie prove that she's failed. I wouldn't do that to her."

"So you do care about something other than dragons," Red spoke softly, softly enough that he clearly hadn't intended for Lily to hear.

"Obviously," she hissed, her hands balling into fists.

"Lily." Red hesitated. "About your letter…I sent Athena back, has she arrived yet?"

"No."

"Well, when she does…" He dropped off at the look on Lily's face. "Fine, I'll tell you now. The answer is still no, Lily. You need a real life, one where you're not running from your family and your friends like Da-Charlie and I did. Didn't one of your professors offer to get you an internship with Healers somewhere?"

"Yes, but I don't want that, Red. This isn't about running like it was for Charlie. This is about dragons, get it?"

The crunching of snow announced Teddy's arrival moments before his head peeked into the shed. "Hey, guys, Ginny's put dinner on the table."

"Thanks, Teddy." Red sighed in relief and left the shed. Teddy stepped inside.

"Are you okay?"

Lily glanced up at him and shook her head, "Merlin, no."

"What's wrong?"

"Red's here. And he still won't listen to reason and let me come back to Romania. And Vic was crazy back there, and her craziness wasn't out of place. And you're here, but we can't ever let anyone know, so I can't even really be with you and – "

Teddy stopped her rant by pressing one finger against her lips. "Listen to me, Lily. Charlie and Red are not your only opportunity to work with dragons. There are other ranches, other places you can go."

Lily bit lightly on the tip of his finger before pulling away. "You're right. I know you're right. But Romania is my home, you know? And I just want to go back there."

"I know." Teddy reached out and tugged gently on her hair, "And you'll get back there, someday. But don't worry about it now. Enjoy Christmas with the family, and try not to let your cousins upset you too much." He hesitated, "What was that thing with Victoire about?"

"What do you think?" Teddy shrugged.

"How you kind of deserted your family at Christmas?"

"Not so much."

He groaned, "Not me?"

"Always, apparently." Lily almost stopped her lips from twisting, "I didn't know she still had feelings for you."

Teddy closed his eyes for a moment and shifted uncomfortably, "I didn't either, until a few months ago. She Flooed me, drunk, one evening. This must have been just before she got with Lorcan, but she said she still loved me, and begged me to take her back. I didn't, clearly. And she moved on."

"Physically."

"Hopefully in other ways, too. But why'd she drag you into that?"

Lily grimaced. "The last time we met – that time in Hogsmeade – I apparently told her that you didn't love her."

"You what? Lily!"

"I know, I know. I'm sorry! I was drunk. Which is definitely no excuse, but I was."

"_Lily_!" Teddy groaned. "How did you even know that? I barely even knew."

"I know. But I knew _you_, Ted. I could tell." Lily's mouth would not stop moving, "And I also knew that I wanted you then. My drunk self is kind of a bitch."

Instead of walking out on her, as he could have done, Teddy burst out laughing and pulled Lily into a hug. "Oh, Merlin, you made it impossible for us to tell everyone about us."

"At least until Victoire and Lorcan get married."

"_At least._" He kissed the top of her head before pushing her away lightly. "But we should probably get in. Everyone'll be wondering where we are."

"Yeah, we should." Lily reached for Teddy's rough, stubbly chin and pulled his willing lips down to hers. They met in a brief kiss before the sound of the door to the house slamming pushed them to opposite sides of the shed.

"Shit." Teddy rubbed the back of his head, where he had banged it against one of the low rafters and Lily bit back laughter.

"Hey, Lily? Oh, you're here, thank Merlin." Curly haired Rose stepped into the shed, shaking snow from her boots and leading a very tentative looking Scorpius Malfoy by one leather gloved hand. "Hey Ted, would you mind?" Rose punctuated her question with a nod toward the door, "Ginny still needs a little help getting everyone settled at the table."

Lily nodded slightly at a hesitating Teddy. She'd be fine – she had, at least, been expecting this conversation.

But she didn't want to make them feel too comfortable, so she returned to her broom and picked it up, examining the smooth handle and wondering if its claim to be dragonfire proof was actually valid, half listening to Rose's babbling in the background.

"Look, Lily, I know that we should have told you sooner, but Scorpius and I, we're kind of dating, and by that I mean that we're really dating and we think it's serious and we'd really appreciate it if you'd understand. And we're really sorry if we hurt you at all and we hope you're okay with this even though we know that – "

"Merlin, it's fine, Rose. Stop worrying. Honestly." Lily put her broom down after deciding that one good flame from her favorite Vipertooth would light it up like a firecracker and turned to face her still-nervous looking cousin.

"We're – what?"  
"It. Is. Fine. You and Scorpius can do whatever you want. I've always known that you two would end up together. It was obvious, even when I was with Scor. I'm just sorry that it took me so long to realize that I didn't want to change that."

"So, wait?" Scorpius stepped forward, brushing invisible dust from his fitted green shirt, "You're over me?"

"Well over. Sorry if that offends you."

"We were stressed about nothing? You're serious?"

"I'm serious. Come on, let's go eat."

"What the hell, Lily! I thought you were never going to speak to me again." Rose prattled on as they walked to the house, but Scorpius remained silent until they reached the door.

"Wait, Lily, can I talk to you for a minute."

"Merlin, I just want to eat." But she nodded, anyway, and let Scorpius lead her away from the house. Rose, surprisingly, didn't even try to follow.

Scorpius rubbed the back of his neck self-consciously, "You know I'm rubbish at this sort of thing, but I just wanted to let you know, I'm so sorry for the way I acted. For the reason I gave for breaking it off with you, and for how we ended it."

"Oh, honestly, Scor. It's fine, you don't need to feel bad."

"But I do. I mean, you were such a good friend…especially when everyone else in Slytherin turned their back on me, and I just dropped you, so easily."

"Scorpius, stop. I didn't want you either, by that time. I knew you were testing me, just like I was testing you, when you wanted to sleep with me. We used each other until we couldn't do it any longer, and I think that we're both better for it. I'm glad we ended, and I don't really care how, or why, we did."

"You really hated me, didn't you?"

"No." Lily laughed, "No, for a long time, I thought I loved you."

Scorpius blinked slowly, the most surprised look she had gotten out of him since she told him that she would not, under any circumstances, ever, fuck him. "You what?"

"I thought I loved you. But I was wrong. And you and Rose are good together, so stop looking like I just killed your dog, or something. Honestly, _Malfoy_, for a Slytherin you're blatantly transparent."

"You're the one who's spilling all sorts of secrets today."

"What do you mean?" Lily bit her lip. She had noticed that her mental filters did not appear to be working quite as well as usual, but she hadn't expected anyone else to notice.

"Oh, let me see. In the last ten minutes – the only ten minutes that I've spent with you all day – you've told me that: you knew that I loved Rose when I was with you; you knew that Rose loved me; you wanted to try and make me forget about Rose; you used me; _and_ you thought you were in love with me. That's the entire underside of our relationship aired to the world. Are you feeling all right?"

He was right. Every conversation that day had involved the spilling, rather than the gathering, of secrets. "Bloody, bloody, Teddy."

"What's that about Teddy?" Scorpius's eyes narrowed, "You two aren't involved, are you?"

Lily was a practiced liar. She had lied to Scorpius, and he had believed her, more times than she could count. But she responded too quickly, this time. "No! Of course not. That's gross, he's like my brother."

"Lily!" Scorpius's voice caught as it worked its way up his throat, "Merlin, you're not really, are you? Because that's just…I mean, it's not like he's really your brother. But he's old. And your family…! What the hell were you thinking?"

Laughter built up and burst through Lily's mouth, her only response to Scor's infringement on her secrets, "Oh, Merlin, Scorpius, you fell for that so easily!" She wheezed through the laughs, enough of a disguise so her lies wouldn't seem as fake.

"Oh, thank God. I thought I was going to have to pose an intervention or something ridiculous like that."

"No, no. You're so gullible. Come on, let's go eat." She sighed a barely visible breath of relief and finally, finally led Scorpius into the warmth of her house.

All throughout dinner everyone in the family continuously eyed Lily and Teddy as if they were liable to break, or explode, or self-destruct in some humanly impossible way. This constant surveillance made it very difficult for them to touch, even though they sat beside each other (which made it especially easy for everyone else to watch them.)

When James's concerned eyes met Lily's for the fifth time, she did explode. Coolly. Calmly. With a Sonorus charm to her throat and a glare for each and every (too many!) member of her family. "I am fine. I'm good, actually. No problems, here. I am over Scorpius, no matter what all of you seem to believe. And I am very happy that he and Rose have finally gotten over themselves and gotten together. And while I can't speak for Teddy – "

Teddy interrupted, softly, "Actually, you can."

"He's over Victoire, as well, and he is happy that she and Lorcan are dating. And are here. So would all of you stop acting like we're both about to shatter?"

"Lily…" Harry began, and Ginny picked up, "We're just concerned."

"Do we really have to do this here?" James muttered, taking Aida's hand under the table.

"Yes," Lily said, her voice returned to normal, "Let's just get this over with. I know that you've all been dying to ask me questions since I got back from Hogwarts."

"Fine," Al jumped in, "Why'd you come home?"

Lily wanted to lie, she did. Her reaction to questions was to lie. But she felt as if she had been dosed with Veritaserum, as if _something_ laced her veins that made it impossible to lie. "Charlie and Red wouldn't let me go back to Romania."

The entire table turned their eyes to the two men, who shifted uncomfortably. "Lily, we've been through this. I didn't want you deserting your family the way I did." Charlie's voice was almost steady.

"Why do you like it there so much?" Harry asked, ignoring Charlie.

"I'm warm there." No one responded. No one could. They couldn't know what that meant. "I mean, it's fun. It's amazing – with the dragons, there's nothing like it in the world. That is all I want to do, and if Red and Charlie don't want me to move to Romania, I'll go to Egypt, or somewhere. Anywhere, as long as there're some Welsh Greens and Chinese Fireballs."

"Lily…" Ginny trailed off, again. "We all knew that you weren't going to stay around forever. But is it really so horrible here?"

"No, no. I love being home. I do. But I want to get on with my life, grow up, become someone. And I can only do that by moving away. And the only way I want to do that is by chasing dragons."

"And what about you and Teddy?" Scorpius's voice cut through the silence at the table like ice through steam, freezing everyone in their places as they slowly turned to look at Lily and Teddy.

"What about us?" Teddy asked, his voice almost steady. "Lily will still be like my little sister."

"And do you make it a habit to sleep with your sisters?" Scorpius asked.

"No. And I do not 'make it a habit' to sleep with Lily, either." Teddy's voice matched Scorpius's for coolness. "What are you _thinking_, Malfoy?"

"It makes sense, though." Victoire spoke up, her eyes filling with angry tears, "That's why you cared so much – that's why you knew, or thought you knew, Teddy didn't love me!"

"No, that's not it at all, Vic." Lily tried to step toward her cousin, but Victoire was already in the fire, turning away to some muttered location.

The rest of the room was silent, Rose glaring at Scorpius, who smirked self-righteously, and the others glaring at Lily and Teddy.

"Lily? Teddy? Will you come with me," Harry's voice was cool and offered no room for negotiation. They followed her father into the living room, knowing that the rest of the family could hear them easily enough, if they tried. And they would.

"There's an eleven year age difference between the two of you." Harry looked from his daughter to his godson. "And if this is true, then that will not be the issue. The issue will be that you did not come to me first, that you did not tell us first. That we had to find out from Rose's boyfriend."

"Harry," Teddy began, but Harry shook his head.

"No, Teddy. I want to hear from Lily, first. What happened?"

"What do you mean, what happened? I fell in love with Teddy the minute I saw him. Or I assume I did." Lily reached for Teddy's hand with her clammy one, and found comfort in him. "I know that when Scorpius and I broke up it was because I realized that whatever I had felt for him was nothing compared to what I felt for Teddy. I know that when I'm away from home, whenever I see something incredible, something amazing, like this one time when I managed to convince one of the dragons to let me ride him, and we flew up and up and up and I thought that I had never been so happy, ever, that the only person I wanted to tell was Teddy. Right then, at that moment, that was all I could think about. I also know that I didn't want to hurt anyone, and you know that I don't often admit that I have emotions, but this time, I mean it. We've only been together for a week, Dad, and we would have told you, I swear we would have."

Teddy squeezed her hand as he began to speak, "Harry, you know me. You practically raised me, which might make this more difficult for you, or it could make it easier. I don't know. But I've loved Lily since the first time she smiled at me. Of course, that changed over the years, and I won't pretend that I didn't think the age difference was strange. But I do love her, and I do know that I will do everything I possibly can to keep her from being hurt."

Harry nodded slowly. "This is not over. But seeing as it's Christmas we'll leave it, for now."

They returned to the still-silent family, and Lily kept Teddy's hand firmly in hers. Lorcan had left while they were talking with Harry, but everyone else was still there, and Lily could feel all of them watching her and Teddy suspiciously, but soon an almost-normal conversation began.

Charlie and Red cornered Lily and Teddy by the tree toward the end of the evening. "Lily, thank you," Red gave his cousin a one-armed hug. "And listen, we'd really appreciate it if you'd consider filling out a full application for the position open at the facility at the end of the year. We can't guarantee you the job but…" Red glanced around the room, "I have a feeling you're going to need to get out of here."

"Really?" Lily glanced from her uncle to her cousin, "What changed?"

"You love them, just like we do. And we know that you've been telling us that for years, but we've never really listened."

"Also," Red grinned, "None of us have ever gotten to ride a dragon. We'll need you for some new experiments."

Teddy's grip tightened around Lily's waist. "No worries, Ted." She grinned up at him, "I'll be perfectly safe."

"Always?" he asked.

"Always," she promised. And softer, "with you."

**A/N:** Please don't hate me.

And please review, if you liked, if you hated, if you think I've lost my mind.


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